Ebenezer howard



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-"Sheet 1. E. HOWARD.

- TYPE WRITING MACHINE. No. 361,876. Patented Apr. 26,1887.

W622 asses:

N. PETERS, Phckoiflhographer. Washington D. C.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

B. HOWARD.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

No. 361,876. Patented Apr. 26, 1887.

. llllll ll Wiinessesp er, Wazhingion. D. (L

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EBENE ZER HOWARD, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

SPBCIPICA'I'IQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 361,876, dated April 26, 1887,

Application filed October 8, 1884. Serial No. 144,979. (No model.) Patented in England July 5, 1884, No. 9,810.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EBENEZER HOWARD, a

resident of London, England, have invented an Improved Type Writing Machine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings;

This invention has for itsobject improve ments in type-writing machines, whereby the spaces between the various letters and characters can be equalized or varied according to pleasure, making it practicable to use double or treble letters in combination.

My machineis intended-to provide for narrower spaces between letters occupying little room, and for wider spaces between letters occupying much room, and for normal spaces between letters of normal width, so that, finally, when the printing is completed the actual blank spaces between the lettersprinted will be substantially alike. I attain these objects in the following manner: I divide the alphabet, including the upper-case letters, figs ures, &c., that are now usually employed, into,

, say, four diflerent classes, having different degrees ofmovement, respectively. Asmall i being taken asthe unit of movement, the mechanism permits of one tooth of the rack of the carriage passing when that key (i) is depressed,

while the small 11 permits two teeth, .the

small m three teeth, to pass, and the capitals one space more than their respective small letters, so that for broad capital letters the rack would move four teeth. Thus, when the capitals I, N, and M are called into action, two, three, and four teeth, respectively, are allowed to pass. In the'case of double and treble letter combinations that number of teeth is allowed to pass which most nearly corresponds to the width of such combinations; but the details of spacing may be modified and varied from those above stated without departing from the spirit of my invention.

My invention consists, principally, in combining the rack of the carriage and the two ordinary dogs, one of which is fixed and the other pivoted, as in the case of the machines known as Remington machines, with a projection or foot on the pivoted dog, and with certain fingers which are operated by the keys, so as to modify the play of said pivoted dog in machine having my improvementsattached thereto. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are detail faceviews of part of the rack and the dogs engaging therewith, showing the dogs differently spaced. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are detail views of modified constructions of the gaging-fingers which regulate the position of the pivoted dog. Fig. 11 is a back view, partly in section, of the type-writing machine; and Fig. 12, a vertical section of the back portion thereof, the line 0 c, Fig. 11, indicating the plane of section.

In the drawings, the letter A represents the rack of the carriage, the same being toothed at its lower edge, or perforated or indented, to receive the dogs B and G. rigid on an elbow-lever, D, which is hung by its pivot a in the frame of the machine, and which is swung on said pivot by connection with a cross-bar, E, which is lowered whenever one of the keys F of the machine is depressed; and whenever said elbow-lever D is thus swung by depressing a key the dog B will be carried forward between the teeth of the rack, so as to hold the rack, and with it the carriage, stationary while the act of printing is going on. WVhen the key F is let go, the dog B is thrown back into the position shown in Fig. 12 by a suitable spring, 1), allowing the dog 0 to enter between the teeth of the rack. The dog 0 (which I term the pivoted dog, because it is movable in the direction of the length of the machine on a separate pivot, 11, while the dog B is called the rigid dog, since it has motion only transversely to the machine) is, by the pin d, pivoted to the shank D of the dog B, as appears clearly from Figs. 2, 3, and 4. A spring, 6, bears against the dog 0, so as to throw it as far away from the dogB aspossible; but the limit of separation or distance between these two dogs is felt by the lower projection, f, of the dog 0 when the same strikes the adjustable finger or fingers, hereinafter described.

In Figs. 2, 3, 4, l1, and 12 I have represented two fingers, as I term them, for use in this machine. They are marked, respectively, G and H. The finger G, which is shown The dog B is in enlarged face view in Fig. 6, is a suitable plate pivoted to a rod, I, which is securedin the frame of the machine. To the same rod is pivoted the finger H, which is more clearly shown in face view, Fig. 8, and which has on the operative side a thicker upper portion, 9, and a thinner lowerportion, h. Normallythat is to say, when letters of ordinary width are to be employed-the two fingers G and H are held in the position which is represented in Fig. 3that is to say, the finger G is drawn down by a suitable spring, 2', so that the foot f of the pivoted dog 0 can strike the thicker upper part, 9, of the finger H, as appears clearly from Figs. 3 and 12. Another spring, j, holds the finger H normally in the position which is shown in Fig. 3. When the fingers are in this position, which I have termed the normal position -that is to say, when the finger H presents its thicker upper portion, g,

' the dog B, and thereupon, as the key is let go,

the dog 0 will enter the rack at a distance of two teeth from the place formerly occupied by the dog B, and will now be carried along by the spring which moves the rack and carriage by means of the usual belt, L, until it (the dog 0) becomes, aligned with the dog B, where it is arrested by a suitable stop, which is used in all machines of the class described' The position of the two dogs in alignment-that is, after a feeding action has been completed-is represented in Fig. 11, and in this position, it will be seen, the foot or lower part, f,of the dog O-is no longer in contact with eitherof the fingers, but is held at a distance from said fingers to permit of their subsequent adj ustment.

The fingersG andH can be swung upwardly on their pivot I by'their respective flexible connections Zandm with rods M and N, which are placed beneath the keys F, as indicated in the lower part of Fig. 12. Each of these rods M N is, by two arms, a, pivotally connected with the frame of -the machine, and is, by a spring, 0, held normally in its elevated position. Above the rod M, which we may assume connects with the finger G, the keys of the narrowest letters or characters-like i, j, &c.-have downwardly-projecting studs p, and above the rod N, which connects with the finger H, the keys of the wider letterslike m and w-have similar protuberances, 1. It follows that whenever any key F having no such protuberance p is depressed the position of the fingers G H will not be affected and will remain normal, as in Fig. 3;

but whenever a key F having such a protuberance is depressed it will also depress, by means of its protuberance, the'bar, M or N, which happens to be below the same, and will thereby swing the proper finger, G or H, into a higher position. Thus, if the bar M is depressed, the finger G will be swung up into the position shown in Fig. 2, so that it will come into the way of the foot .of the pivoted dog 0, while if the bar N is depressed the finger II will be raised to swing its narrower portion it into the path of the foot f of the dog 0. Thus, when a narrow letter like the letter iis to be printed, the depression of the proper key F will bring up the finger G, and will thereby cause the dogs B O to be but one tooth of the rack apart, while when a wide letterlike the letter mis to be printed, the finger H is raised, as in Fig. 4, thereby causing the dogs B G to be three teeth apart from one another; and hence it is evident that by this arrangement those particular letters which heretofore have caused the inequality of spacing in type-writing machines will now be spaced the same as letters of normal width,

Clearly, the construction of the. fingers G H may be modified, and, in fact, in lieu of two fingers, G and H, but asingle finger, H, of the form shown in Figs. 5 and 7, may be used, which single finger would have acontact-edge made in three planes, of which the plane 1 would hold the dog 0 in the normal position, the plane 2 would hold it in the position for producing the shortest space, and the plane 3 in the position for producing the longest space; and it is also evident that such a finger as that shown in Figs. 5 and 7 can be moved by rods M or N so as to bring either the face 2 or the face 3 into play. I

At all times, whenever a key F is let go, the spring, t or j, which connects with one of the fingers will draw the latter into its socalled normal position again. Where, for sundry purposes, more than three variations of spacing may be required for the difl'erent small letters or combinations of letters, the fingerH may have three steps, as in Figs. 9 and 10, instead of two, as shown in Figs. 3 and 8, the operationbeing the same as already described; or extra fingers similar to G may be employed.

I will now describe the additional improvement, which consists in causing capital letters to receive a space which is, say, one tooth wider than the space for the same letter in the lower case. For this purpose I connect the upper-case key, (which is a key recognized by that name in the No.2 Remington machine,) or any other suitable key, by a chain, r, or otherwise, with an elbow-lever, s, which connects by rods twith the fingers G H, which fingers are capable of sliding on their pivot I, so that whenever the said upper-case key or analogous key is depressed the elbow s will draw the rod t, and with it the fingers, in the direction of the arrow which is shown in Fig.

ICC

11, which motion is to the extent of, say, one tooth of the rack. It follows that whenever a key having a protuberance p is depressed, and at the same time the upper-case key or its equivalent is depressed, the fingers G H will be actuated on their pivot in the same manner as described with reference to the printing of small letters, and in addition they will he slid on their pivot the distance of one tooth, so that the dog 0 will stand one tooth farther off from the dog B than it would stand for the same letter in the lower case. Thus if, for printing a small letter, i, the dogs are one tooth apart, as in Fig. 2, they will, for printing the capital letter I, stand two teeth apart, and yet the foot f of the dog 0 will touch the finger G; and, again, if for printing the small letter in the dogs are three teeth apart, as in Fig. 4, they will be made to stand four teeth apart for printing the capital letter M, which motion is produced, as already described, by pulling the fingers the distance of one tooth by means of the elbow 8. After the upper-case key is let go, a spring, at, slides the fingers back against a suitable stop into the normal position. Of course thislast-mentioned improvement, which consists in drawing the fingers lengthwise, is applicable or desirable only for machines in which the same keys are employed for printing capital and. small letters. In machines in which separate keys are used throughout for capital and small letters this longitudinal motion is not necessary; but in that case the three-stepped finger H, in connection with the fiat finger G, will be most desirable.

It is evident that in lieu of the parts, 1* s 15, described in the foregoing specification as the means of connecting. the upper-case key with the sliding fingers, any other mechanism may be employed which is equivalent to such parts 9' s t. It is likewise evident that instead of placing the dogs B 0 between the teeth of the rack A, they may be caused to enter perforations in the rack, or otherwise engaged therewith, to hold it in a stationary position when required and to let it move as far as desired when required. 7

I do not broadly claim, in a type-writing machine,a letter-space ratchet pivoted so that it may vibrate in the same plane with another letter-space ratchet when moving in one direction and parallel to the plane of the other when moving in the opposite direction, in combination with one or more slide-stops; nor do I claim, in combination with the key-1evers, space-bar, and stiff and limber letter space ratchets of a type-writing machine, mechanism for altering the length of the arc of vibration of the limber letter-space ratchet, consisting of one or more vibrating stop-bars communicating motion to one or more slidestops, nor, broadly, the combination, with the rack of a type-writing-machine, of the stiff and limber letterspace ratchets, the limber ratchet having a prolongation, a removable stop or finger, the printing-keys having protuberanees, and a cross-bar lying under the keys and connected to the stop.

I claim 1. In a type-writing machine, the combination of certain keys, F, with movable fingers G H, rack A, dogs B G, and mechanism, substantiallyas described, for moving said fingers into the path of the pivoted dog 0, thereby adjusting its distance from the dog B, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the rack A and dog 13, and means, as described, for moving said dog on its pivot a, with the dog 0, pivoted thereto by pin d, springs b and e, footf, and pivoted fingers G H, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described, said fingers being actuated by the keys F, asspecified.

l 3. Ina type-writing machine having rack A, the combination thereof with the dogs B and O, the dog 0, having the prolongationf, and with the finger H, cross-barN, and printing-keys F, having protuberances p, substantially as herein shown and described.

4. The combination of the keys F, having protuberancesp, with the movable cross-bars M N, placed beneath said protuberances, connections Z m, and fingers G H, and with the dogs 13 and O and rackA of a typewriting machine, as described.

5. The finger H, having contact-surfaces g h, combined with mechanism, substantially as described, for moving it, and with the dog 0 of atype-writing machine, said dog having the prolongationf, as specified.

6. The combination of fingers G H with mechanism, substantially as described, for turning them on their pivot, with the dogs B O, and with the mechanism, rs t, for sliding the fingers in the direction of the length of their pivot, as specified.

7. In a machine. having two dogs, B 0, constructed substantially as described, the combination of said dogs with a finger, G, crossbar 'M, the key F, having protuberancep, and the connection 7' s t and upper-case key, substantially as described.

8. The combination of the rack A, dogs B C, the dog 0 having the foot f, fingers G H, keys F, said keys having protuberances p,with the movable cross-bars Maud N, substantially as herein shown and described.

EBENEZER HOWARD.

\Vitnesses:

CHARLES G. M. THOMAS, HARRY M. TURK. 

